COLUMN: Pulling the plug - Gabri Veiga's imminent departure is a concern for La Liga

Celta Vigo boss Rafa Benitez on Saturday confirmed what had been rumoured for weeks – one of his club’s most prized assets, its top young player, is on his way out two games into the 2023/24 season.

Gabri Veiga, one of the revelations of La Liga last year, will be sold to Napoli in a deal that will be finalised in the coming days. The 21-year-old is leaving for the Serie A champions, his final official game having taken place two months ago, when he practically single-handedly kept the Galician side in the top flight with a matchday 38 brace against none other than champions Barcelona – two of his 11 goals last season.

“We are close to finalising a deal,” Benitez told reporters following Celta’s 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad. “We must be realistic and say that the agreement is close.”

The point they just took at Reale Arena might prove to be quite valuable come mid-May, but with skipper Iago Aspas aging and instability at boardroom level, losing Gabri could be quite damaging for Os Celestes – who have finished 17th twice in the past five years, staying in the top flight only by the skin of their teeth.

Granted, Gabri going to Napoli is nothing to sneeze at, and he’s earned an opportunity like this one abroad. Yet this deal will be spun as good value for an academy-bred player – even if it will be concluded for slightly less than his €40m release clause. Celta President Carlos Mourino’s tragicomic desire to shop him, on no fewer than three occasions publicly, can hardly have boosted morale at Balaidos. Seeing how much of his brilliant career Aspas alongside him has committed to Celta, it makes you wonder whether that kind of thing is even possible anymore.

More concerningly, Veiga is the latest budding star to leave LaLiga